Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates generally to an article forming apparatus, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to an improved apparatus and method for semi-automatically forming an article, such as a flower pot cover, from a sheet of material.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art.
It has been known to provide a decorative covering for a flower pot by forming a sheet of material between a male die and a female die as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,182. This particular decorative cover is a preformed flower pot cover made by forming a sheet of material between a male die and a female die. In this process, a plurality of overlapping folds are formed in the material. The overlapping folds cooperate to provide structural strength to keep the preformed shape of the flower pot cover.
Several apparatuses are known for forming the decorative covers. These apparatuses range from manual machines to automatic machines. The manual machines require an operator to position a sheet of material between the male die and the female die, engage a start button to activate the machine whereby the male die is caused to mate with the female die, and remove the formed cover from the male die after the male die has been removed from the female die.
While manual machines are relatively inexpensive to manufacture and maintain, the operation of such machines is inefficient due to the number of steps required to be carried out by the operator to produce a cover. In addition, the repetitiveness of these steps required to produce a large number of covers can cause repetitive motion injuries to the operator. The operator is also at risk of being burned as the operator removes the formed cover from the male die, which is generally heated to facilitate the forming process.
While fully automatic machines avoid the above described problems associated with manual machines, they are often too expensive to manufacture and maintain to be cost efficient.
To this end, an improved apparatus for semi-automatically forming an article, such as a flower pot cover, from a sheet of material is needed which is economical to manufacture and operate and results in significant increases in production efficiency, while eliminating certain repetitive motions of an operator. It is to such an apparatus and method that the present invention is directed.
The present invention is directed to an apparatus for forming an article from a sheet of material. The apparatus includes a male die, a female die, a presence sensing assembly, and a controller. The male die is shaped such that at least a portion of the male die is positionable in the opening of the female die. The male die and the female die are movable between a discharge position wherein the male die is removed from the opening of the female die such that the sheet of material is positionable between the male die and the female die and a forming position wherein at least a portion of the male die is disposed in the opening of the female die so as to form the article from the sheet of material positioned between the male die and the female die.
The presence sensing assembly is positioned for sensing the presence of an operator in a sheet feeding zone which is located between an operator""s station and a zone of operation of the male die and the female die. The controller initiates an article forming sequence, wherein the male die and the female die are moved from the discharge position to the forming position for a period of time to form the article from the sheet of material and subsequently returned to the discharge position, in response to the operator clearing the presence sensing assembly subsequent to the operator breaking the presence sensing assembly while positioning a sheet of material between the male die and the female die via the sheet feeding area.
The present invention is also directed to a method for forming an article. The method includes the steps of positioning a sheet of material between a female die and a male die so as to break a presence sensing curtain formed across a sheet feeding zone; and clearing the presence sensing curtain so as to initiate a cover forming sequence wherein the male die and the female die are moved from a discharge position wherein the male die is removed from the opening of the female die such that the sheet of material is positionable between the male die and the female die to a forming position wherein at least a portion of the male die is disposed in the opening of the female die so as to form the article from the sheet of material positioned between the male die and the female die to form the article from the sheet of material and subsequently returned to the discharge position.
The objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and appended claims.